Happy Earth Day!

Good afternoon everyone! It's been a while since I've posted. Things have been busy. Last week I met my fundraising goal, but I'm still hoping to raise more money and keep raising awareness about The Arc.

Since today is Earth Day, I like to reflect on things that I've been doing that hopefully help the earth. I recycle, so when I can, I buy products that can be recycled, that are made of recycled materials and can be reused.

Buying earth friendly should not have to be expensive. However, I'm finding that buying at the lowest prices doesn't allow for much brand loyalty.

I've been making more frequent trips to my local health food store, which has some very good sales. Recently I purchased Ecover dishwashing liquid with chamomile and marigold. It smells really good and bubbles enough for me to feel that my dishes are getting cleaned. Also, I tried Earth Friendly Products lemongrass hand soap. I really liked that too and hope that the sales continue!

Some items I tried weren't on sale. Tissues made from recycled material were very scratchy and I won't be buying them again.

I paid more than I usually would for some razors by Schick, because while they are disposable, the plastic on the Xtreme3 eco is 100% post-consumer plastic and the paper packaging is also 100% post-consumer recycled paper. I felt like I was doing a good thing buying this product, but the razor isn't any better or worse than any other.  I'm a bit ambivalent.

It may be easier, cheaper, and ultimately more satisfying to find new ways to use items that you bought. These glass bottles below originally contained seasonings and jelly. I washed them out and removed the labels, so I can use them for something else.

Sometimes I make my own mixtures of seasonings and need a container to hold them. When I buy seasonings in plastic bags, I prefer to keep them them in glass jars, so they are easier to see.

The jars can also be used to hold flowers on your desk or cover them with fabric to colorfully hold pens, pencils, and markers. I've made a few of these.
Also, it can be difficult to dispose of some large items after we purchase them. Like old computers, printers, keyboards, etc. A technology recycling partnership between HP and Staples now accepts all brands of the following electronics for free.

• Desktop PCs, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs, external hard drives and small servers
• All computer monitors
• Printers, desktop copiers, faxes and all-in-one devices
• Mice, keyboards, modems/routers networking and PC speakers
• Shredders, streaming devices, phones and Universal Power Supply (UPS battery backup)
• Mobile phones, GPS devices, MP3 players, digital camcorders and digital cameras
You can bring any of these items for recycling at the service desk of your local Staples store in the United States.

Today is also a day just to enjoy the beauty of the earth. You know I love movies. Earlier today G and I watched a really nice one called The Whole Wide World. It's a true story about writer Robert Howard and schoolteacher Novalyne Price.



This very small 1996 film stars two of my favorite actors, Vincent D'Onofrio and a pre-Jerry Maguire Renée Zellweger. D'Onofrio is also a producer of the film. The movie has some gorgeous scenes and is almost a love letter to Texas. Zellweger was born in Texas and I can definitely see how she must have been drawn to this film.

So if you want to enjoy a tiny bit of the beauty of Texas, take a look at the trailer.



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